The inventive concept relates generally to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly to a nonvolatile memory device and related programming method designed to reduce a current peak.
Semiconductor memory devices can be roughly divided into two categories according to whether they retain stored data when disconnected from power. These categories include volatile memory devices, which lose stored data when disconnected from power, and nonvolatile memory devices, which retain stored data when disconnected from power. Examples of volatile memory devices include DRAM and SRAM, and examples of nonvolatile memory devices include flash, PRAM, RRAM, and MRAM.
Among nonvolatile memory devices, flash memory devices have achieved increasing popularity in recent years due to attractive features such as relatively high storage capacity, efficient operating speed, relatively low cost, and relatively high durability. Accordingly, flash memory devices are currently used to provide nonvolatile data storage in a wide variety of electronic devices, such as computers, cellular phones, smart phones, digital cameras, camcorders, voice recorders, MP3 players, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld PCs, game machines, fax machines, scanners, printers, etc.
Due to the ever increasing demand for flash memory devices, researchers are engaged in continual efforts to improve the storage capacity, speed, reliability, power consumption, and other performance characteristics of flash memory devices.